Watkins does all the right things on "Young in All the Wrong Ways"  

Watkins' lyrical themes on go back to the tumultuous point when she was operating without a label or management. Rather than allowing herself to be crippled by the unknown, Watkins harnessed and redirected that energy in a productive manner.

"What I noticed listening to this album in full is that there's quite a bit of transition happening," she says. "I made a conscious choice in my life during the writing of these songs to embrace any kind of turmoil or chaos as a positive thing. Potentially, I'm going new places in my life, and that allows for questions to be raised that would eventually lead to more thought and then more growth."

"Young..." feels like the first step down an exciting new path for her. "I've really been enjoying singing in a new way in the last few years," says Watkins. "There can be an abandon when I'm singing now that I can have sometimes when I'm soloing on fiddle. I don't feel like I have to worry about every little thing that comes out of my mouth - that I can relax, and I'm freed up in a way. It makes each show special, particularly because these songs are from me, there's a little more ownership than I've had in the past."

Watkins didn't road test any of her new songs before taking them into the studio. Her most recent gigs have represented the live debuts of the songs, and whether in full band or solo mode, she's having a blast with the new material, and the impact it's having on her older songs.

"It's always satisfying to unveil something to people in different ways. So, I'm very much still in that process and enjoying it," she says. "I've noticed that some songs from my catalog that I didn't end up playing because they didn't really fit the repertoire are fitting now. I'm changing the arrangements to older songs, and I'm probably going to start putting in some stuff like 'When It Pleases You' that I didn't really play live before. It definitely is changing the whole picture, interestingly."